Using Leica Noctivid binoculars was better than I could have imagined. They are a revolution and an absolute joy to use. The very first day I was able to experience both Leica Noctivid & the Great Ocean Road, one of my favourite places on Earth. Where else can you see Shy AlbatrossShy Albatross are a signal of ocean health and breed on sub-Antarctic islands. Their population has halved in the last 35 years More, Echidna, Emu, Koalas, Peacock Spiders, Kangaroos, Wallabies and Copperhead Snakes in a day? We even finished with an incredible head-height encounter with a mother and joey koala. Who doesn’t love a baby koala?
A victim of my own stupidity
I recently lost my first ever pair of Leicas which felt like losing an old friend. Over 27 years they had practically become extensions of my arms and eyes.
I recall a fellow birdwatcher once got a sore nose after a reflex forced him to thrust binoculars to his eyes on seeing something interesting in the distance. He wasn’t wearing them at the time. He punched himself in the face.
As I wrote the police report, I was forced to admit to having lost them … possibly having left them on a fence as I answered my phone. Embarrassing. And a first world problem, if ever there was. That’ll teach me. I’d put it down to a fading mind and old age but the form asked for the circumstances of the loss. ‘My stupidity’, I answered. On receiving the Lost Property Report from Vic Police, I was amused to find myself referred to as a ‘Victim’. Yeah, victim of my own stupidity.
Unboxing excitement
I love using Leica binoculars. If you look after them they last a lifetime. Even if you don’t … mine have travelled tens of thousands of kilometres, been constantly sunburnt, subjected to tropical humidity, submerged repeatedly in the sea and in lakes (I have fallen in several times), fallen off the back of a 4WD and man-handled by many kids.
I cannot imagine how many hundreds of days I’ve spent, comfortable in the knowledge they are around my neck, while in the company of wildlife.
After three months I was still feeling sore. You can imagine how nerdishly excited I was to unbox my new pair.
Versatility from spiders and snakes to seabirds
In my latter years I’m just as likely to use my binoculars to stare at peacock spiders near my feet, as I am to scan for albatross and dolphins. Indeed, this was the way they were used on my first day out.
On the cliffs at the petrified forest near Portland (Victoria, Australia), we searched on our hands and knees for tiny White-haired Peacock Spiders but I also occasionally scanned the ocean offshore.
Right now we’re in between seasons for whales but there was a hearty line of Australasian Gannets and a few Shy Albatross navigating the invisible line offshore. This is where the depth plunges to a few hundred metres, and upwellings of food will soon begin to attract a lot of southern ocean wildlife. Later in the year Blue Whales gather here.
But today we were focused on the spiders. These often-times flighty jumping spiders can head deep into the bush, so I found myself close-focusing using the Noctivid binoculars first. They focus to less than 2m, which is perfect. I can see almost in front of my toes.
This way I could confirm an identity before pressing in for a photo. Not only did this save me time but the incredible visual clarity enabled me to see details simply too small for my eyes. For instance, even the red-brown head is quite hard to discern visually.
The optical quality of the Noctivid binoculars is as close as any has ever got to true human vision. It’s like seeing with superpower … natural but magnified. As the spiders are only about 3-4mm long it was great to have this as a tool. I even found one searching the vegetation through them
From there we headed to Tower Hill, Aboriginal land that is preserved for cultural heritage and open to the public. The boardwalk is always a great place to see Lowland Copperhead Snakes in the morning. There were a few families wandering along and I handed the Noctivid binoculars over a few times to give the kids a better view. Everyone was there to see the snakes. But no-one wanted to get too close of course.
The thrill of seeing them through the binoculars was evident as the youngsters drew breath and exclaimed ‘wow.’ Seeing animals magnified like this can be life-altering and lead to a stronger respect and appreciation for nature. I wish I could give all kids the same opportunity.
As for birdwatching, they are lovely to handle. I often carry a camera and I found myself effortlessly lifting them up with one hand. The double-tube design is really easy to hold and the extraordinary wide field of view means you don’t need to worry about a bit of shake. This is also the benefit of the 8x pairs (which are always my preference, for versatility and weight).
But by far the best thing of all, is that hardly any focusing is needed at middle-to-distant range. If anything, the focus is just a fine adjustment for detail. Remarkably some users have reported ‘almost no impulse to change focus.’ This is quite revolutionary.
Magnifying your emotional connection to nature
Binoculars are more important than cameras. ‘Eyes first, binoculars second, camera third’, I say to guests on my trips.
Your brain is the best storage device for memories and emotions. Binoculars remain faithful to that. You’ll get more reward watching animals through binoculars than you will ever looking at a tiny LED screen or through a viewfinder.
We compromise so many life experiences these days and are poorer for it. We listen to low-quality internet music; buy cloths that wear out fast; take cheap, rushed holidays; and exhaust our love of movies by binge-watching. Watching nature is brilliant, vibrant, exciting and inspirational. Why would we want to compromise that as well?
While birdwatching in the Nepalese Himalayas a friend was robbed by armed maoist rebels. He handed over everything … except his binoculars. He flatly refused. After a few moments of discussion, the rebels conceded and allowed him to go on his way. He had no money, his camera was gone but he still had his faithful binoculars.
A new way to see
To understand what it’s like to use a high quality pair you have to grab them and use them. It’s the incredible detail that’s magic. Your eyesight is powerful and a good pair will magnify these details and emotions.
Even common birds take on new life. I watched a Welcome Swallow hawking insects over the beach. The iridescent blues in the wings were clear as day. The experiences I have, binoculars in hand, are far more memorable than any other. It’s like seeing everything all over again. They add a level of memorable clarity that is almost unimaginable.
The subtle and gorgeous patterns of every feather are there to see. Sure, you can see these on a photo but not in as much clarity. Film is, at best, 4k – about 8 megapixel. Human vision is about 576 megapixels.
You’ll see light better than anything. And movement. And shape. It’s the faintest breath of wind lifting feathers, casting deep shadows beneath; the soulful, glistening light in the eye; and how the patterns of sunlight bend around the plumage, casting the shape in glorious three-dimensions. You’ll see behaviour you’ve never considered and you’ll make new discoveries for yourself, that you never imagined before.
A life-affirming purchase
These Leica Noctivid binoculars are a revolution. I might even go as far to say, losing my old ‘bins’ could be a blessing in disguise. Even though it’s been a long few months without any.
If you find it odd why I would choose to spend big on a pair of binoculars, let me explain.
If you’ve known a life like mine, or indeed of most people who have a serious interest in nature, you couldn’t stand anything less. For me, a great pair of binoculars is more important than anything else I own. There is no way I would ever go on a wildlife trip without them.
Binoculars aren’t just a tool for seeing things, they are a whole new way to see the world around us. Seeing everything magnified in brilliant detail is like having a superpower. It’s both extraordinary and humbling.
It’s not too much to say that even my book was squarely inspired by owning a pair of Leicas.
The most valued of my possessions is a pair of high-quality binoculars I bought in 1996 with my first pay cheque after I left university. They cost the equivalent of about £1,000 in today’s money and with a lifetime warranty have enabled me to see countless thousands of birds, mammals, whales and dolphins, landscapes and insects. They’ve done more to connect me with nature than any other purchase, and they don’t plug into the internet, they don’t need charging and they are still optically outstanding after thirty years. Go and buy yourself a decent pair of binoculars, and they’ll have a bigger impact on your life and learning than almost anything else.
From Wildlife in the Balance by Simon Mustoe
Footnote: alternative Uses for Leica Binoculars
- Viewing wildlife at night or in very low light: If you’ve ever looked through any binoculars at night, it’s as though the object is brighter. The exceptional saturation performance of the Noctivid mean the colours are even richer. You can extend your viewing in the evening, or look into dark vegetation e.g. rainforest.
- Looking at invertebrates. The close-focus is 1.9m meaning I can look at objects just in front of my toes. For butterfly, dragonfly and other invertebrate enthusiasts, the Noctivid will be great.
- As a microscope. Turn your Noctivid binoculars upside down and they work as a powerful microscope! Just be careful not to scratch the lens on the ground.
- Star-gazing. The inherent brightness and immense clarity of Noctivid binoculars makes them ideal for amateur star-gazing.
- Drawing & painting wildlife. The double-tube design and lightweight magnesium frame makes them easy to hold with one hand, while sketching with the other.
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